Alrich • Jenkins • Rorem CONCERTOS FOR MALLET INSTRUMENTS

Evelyn Glennie, Percussion City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong Jean Thorel ALRICH • JENKINS • ROREM Concertos for Mallet Instruments This compilation of c oncertos for mallet instruments Alexis Alrich (b. 1955): Concerto (2004) Karl Jenkins (b. 1944): La Folia (2004) Ned Rorem (b. 1923): Mallet Concerto (2003) features percussion virtuoso Dame Evelyn Glennie and City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong in a world My music is influenced by American minimalism, Asian Sir Karl Jenkins is one of the most performed composers American composer Ned Rorem studied orchestration premiere recording of Alexis Alrich’s Marimba Concerto , music and Western classical and folk music. In 2010 in the world today. Defying conventional categorisation, with Virgil Thomson and composition with Aaron Copland and mallet works dedicated to Dame Evelyn Glennie by Dame Evelyn Glennie and City Chamber Orchestra of his style and integrity has transcended musical and Arthur Honegger in New York. He worked in Morocco Sir Karl Jenkins and the Pulitzer prize-winning composer Hong Kong gave the Asian premiere of my Marimba boundaries and includes jazz-rock with Soft Machine, the and Paris, where he was associated with the cultural and diarist Ned Rorem. Concerto . It was first played in 2004 by the San Francisco ‘cross-genre’ phenomenon Adiemus , soundtracks for circle of Francis Poulenc. During his career he held Composers Chamber Orchestra. Technical advice from Levi’s and British Airways and a score for a movie teaching positions at the Universities of Buffalo and Utah, American percussionist Matthew Cannon, the marimba featuring Kiefer Sutherland. His work The Armed Man: A and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In 1976 soloist, was invaluable in the development of the piece. Mass for Peace has been performed up to 3,000 times he won a Pulitzer Prize for Music for his Air Music: Ten The Concerto has also been performed by Gwendolyn and the recording has remained in the UK classical charts Etudes for Orchestra . Rorem is most widely recognised Burgett Thrasher and the Michigan Philharmonic for 17 years. Knighted in 2015, Sir Karl Jenkins has been as a latter-day master of the art song, having composed conducted by Nan Washburn. Composed in three hailed as the most popular living composer by Classic hundreds of outstandingly effective settings of lyric poetry movements and characterised by bold rhythms, colourful FM’s ‘The Ultimate Hall of Fame’, and praised by Classic for solo voice and piano. His music is intrinsically vocal, orchestrations and an air of exuberance , the Marimba FM Magazine for his approach to composing that is noted for its tonal and lyrical qualities, rich orchestration, Concerto is highly demanding for the soloist and fully ‘perfectly in tune with the spirit of the times.’ His rhythmic imagination and combination of unusual timbres. exploits the technical possibilities and sound palette of the composition La Folia for marimba and strings was Commissioned for the Scottish virtuoso percussionist five-octave marimba. The opening Con moto with its commissioned by IMG Artists for Dame Evelyn Glennie, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Ned Rorem’s Mallet Concerto string tremolos and whispering wind motifs provides an who gave the first performance with the City of London highlights the contrasting resonances of four different atmospheric entrance for the solo marimba. A set of Sinfonia conducted by Nicholas Ward in 2004. Originating types of pitched mallet instruments displayed in its seven variations follow, including a duet for marimba and from the 15th century, La Folia is a musical framework, movements (i.e. vibraphone, glockenspiel, marimba and bassoon, passages for four mallets and a charming waltz comprising a melody above a passacaglia-esque chord xylophone). Solo vibraphone interjects its thematic with harp accompaniment leading to an exhilarating progression. A famous set of variations was published by pattern periodically throughout the opening movement, cadenza for the solo marimba. The middle Lento movement Arcangelo Corelli in 1700, and interpretations persist into entitled A Beginning . Another Minotaur features a starts with a gently pulsating theme that recurs between the modern day, as this offbeat arrangement into a dynamic role and cadenza for the glockenspiel. In Back contrasting sections, including one in Mexican folk style. concerto for the marimba demonstrates. Adhering to his and Forth , the marimba is adopted, playing a repetitive The final Energico , with its relentless and driving main Baroque source, Jenkins sets the quietly sedate sequence and a legato melody. Rorem presents diverse theme, climaxes with a multi-layered, Asian-inspired statement of the theme as a mellow marimba solo, before themes for the xylophone in A Xylo-Waltz , accompanied chorale. The work culminates with a toccata-style cadenza the embellished variations take on contrasting by some rippling triplet sections for the orchestra. The for the soloist followed by a brilliant orchestral flourish. characteristics, and increase in intensity. The marimba marimba returns in Let Me In , its wooden tones effectively performs a cadenza in a final display, before a return to portraying ‘knocking at the door’. The themes of Tag are Alexis Alrich the calm of the opening theme. alternated between the glockenspiel and solo instruments of the orchestra. In An Ending Ned Rorem uses musical Jane Downer material from the first movement and suggests vibraphone or chimes as the solo percussion instrument. Dame Evelyn Glennie has chosen the vibraphone in this recording.

Jane Downer Dame Evelyn Glennie City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong

Dame Evelyn Glennie is the first person in musical history to successfully create and sustain a career as a full-time solo percussionist. As an eclectic and innovative musician and composer, she is constantly redefining the goals and expectations of percussion. Her diverse collaborations include performances with Björk, Bobby McFerrin, , , The King’s Singers and Béla Fleck. She has performed as soloist with many of the world’s major orchestras, and took a lead role in the opening ceremony to mark the 2012 Olympics in London. Dame Evelyn Glennie has commissioned over two hundred new works for solo percussion from many of the world’s most eminent composers. She has made over forty solo recordings, three of which have received GRAMMY awards. A motivational speaker and educationalist, she has written a best-selling autobiography, Good Vibrations, and a book entitled Listen World! dedicated to teenagers. Her stance on sound was captured by the renowned film director Thomas Riedelsheimer in his film Touch the Sound and through her hugely popular TED talk. She has received over ninety international awards, including an Order of the British Empire (OBE), Dame Commander (DBE) and the Companion of Honour.

www.evelyn.co.uk

Photo: dgm-photo.com

City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) enjoys a unique position as one of Asia’s leading chamber orchestras. The orchestra has performed with world-class artists including Dame Evelyn Glennie, Sir , Christian Lindberg, Sarah Chang, Branford Marsalis, Richard Galliano and Sir Neville Marriner. CCOHK has made its mark on tour in Italy, Taipei, Shanghai and Beijing, and in internationally acclaimed recordings with Danish recorder Photo: Jim Callaghan virtuoso Michala Petri and Argentine bandoneon master Daniel Binelli. Bug Symphony , CCOHK’s fully staged musical, won the Public Choice Award at the 2017 YAMawards in Portugal. From 2008 to 2016 Jean Thorel served as chief conductor and was succeeded by Vahan Mardirossian in 2019.

www.ccohk.com Jean Thorel

French conductor Jean Thorel was awarded the Vocation Foundation Prize. As a guest conductor he has performed with the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Ensemble Quartz, Musiques Nouvelles in Belgium, Athelas Sinfonietta, the Danish Chamber Players, Percurama Copenhagen, the Bolshoi Theatre Percussion Ensemble, So Percussion in Washington, the Copenhagen Royal Ballet, Musica Vitae in Sweden, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the Aarhus and Odense Symphony Orchestras, the Russian National Orchestra, the EOS Repertoire Orchestra in Beijing, the National Light Orchestra in Shanghai, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Nice and Marseille Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Hilliard Ensemble, among others. From 2008 to 2016 he was chief conductor of City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and led numerous concerts with world-class artists. An impassioned promoter of new works and rare music, he has given 700 world premieres and has appeared regularly at major festivals of contemporary music. Jean Thorel’s discography includes a recording of works by Louis Saguer with the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble which won the 2002 Académie du Disque Lyrique Orphée d’Or prize.

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Photo: Wrong design This compilation of concertos for mallet instruments features triple GRAMMY Award- winning percussion virtuoso Dame Evelyn Glennie and City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. Alexis Alrich’s Marimba Concerto , a rich amalgam of bold rhythms and exuberance, also explores Mexican and Asian-inspired music. Sir Karl Jenkins traces the 15th-century tune La Folia , furnishing it with refinement and strongly characterised intensity. Ned Rorem’s Mallet Concerto highlights the contrasting resonances of four different pitched mallets in music of drama and dynamism.

CONCERTOS FOR MALLET INSTRUMENTS 1 Alexis Alrich (b. 1955): Marimba Concerto (2004)* 32:57 2 I. Con moto 11:08 3 II. Lento 9:49 III. Energico 11:48 4 Karl Jenkins (b. 1944): La Folia (2004) 11:15

5 Ned Rorem (b. 1923): Mallet Concerto (2003)* 26:33 6 I. A Beginning 3:32 7 II. Another Minotaur 5:24 8 III. Back and Forth 3:36 9 IV. A Xylo-Waltz 3:18 0 V. Let Me In 4:42 ! VI. Tag 2:12 VII. An Ending 3:36 *W ORLD PREMIERE RECORDING 60 1 4 7 9 Evelyn Glennie, Glocken5sp !iel , Marim8ba – , Vibraphone , Xylophone City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong • Jean Thorel 5 ! 1 3 4 Recorded: 29 May & 1 June – , 31 May & 1 June – and 1 June 2013 at Shaw Studios, Hong Kong Executive Producer: Leanne Nicholls • Recording Producer, Editing, Mixing and Mastering: Preben Iwan

Booklet no1tes3: Alexis Alrich, Jane Downer 4 ! Publishers: Alto Publications – , Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd – Sponsors: Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Aedas Architects Ltd • Cover photo: Jim Callaghan ൿ Ꭿ & 2021 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd • www.naxos.com